Sunday, November 25, 2012

MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for the week of November 25, 2012




Catholic Charities. Providing Help. Creating Hope. 


VISION: Believing in the presence of God in our midst, we proclaim the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the person by sharing in the mission of Jesus given to the Church. To this end, Catholic Charities works with individuals, families, and communities to help them meet their needs, address their issues, eliminate oppression, and build a just and compassionate society.

MISSION: Rooted in the Mission of the Diocese of Youngstown "to minister to the people in the six counties of northeastern Ohio . . .(and) to the world community", we are called to provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire Church and other people of good will to do the same.

GOALS: Catholic Charities is devoted to helping meet basic human needs, strengthening families, building communities and empowering low-income people. Working to reduce poverty in half by 2020.

KEY VALUE: Hospitality

WHAT WE DO: Organizing Love. "As a community, the Church must practise love. Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community" (Deus Caritas Est, par. 20) 



http://freedom-of-religion.org/religious_art/Jesus/Christ-the-King/Christ%20the%20King%20Icon.bmp
 
On Sunday, (The Solemnity of Christ the King, Last Sunday in Current Liturgical Year , http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/112512.cfm)   we read from the Gospel of John about Jesus’ encounter with Pilate.  Jesus confirms His mission in obedience to the Father.  Jesus testifies to the Truth -- is the Truth -- reminding us that as believers we are called to follow Jesus first...our country, tribe. political party, or nation much later.  Our priority must be on building the Kingdom of God in time and history and for eternity.  


Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org  continues to be an agent of the Church in building up the Kingdom of God.  We witness, in good times and bad, about the cry of the poor to all leaders and decision makers, reminding them of Jesus’ love for each of us and His special concern with those who are hungry, naked, sick, in prison, homeless, thirsty and a stranger.  We remind our cultural and political leaders that respect for all human life is essential, from conception to natural death.  We try the best we can to witness to the Truth -- the Truth revealed in the Word made flesh, Jesus the Christ -- the first priority.  Sometimes that witness to the Truth may upset people; but we are sure in our call to be faithful witnesses to the Gospel and to the Church in all we advocate and in how we serve.



Reflection from Church Documents and Official Statements


http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/year-of-faith/images/year-of-faith-logo-montage.jpg

ABP FISICHELLA: WE NEED NEW EVANGELIZERS


(Vatican Radio) “We cannot conduct a new evangelisation without new evangelizers”, said Archbishop Rino Fisichella Thursday as he opened a three day conference on New Evangelisation in down town Sydney, Australia.

As keynote speaker at Proclaim 2012, the President of the Vatican Council for New Evangelisation spoke of the decline of the faith in Europe and western societies, which, he said, cannot be stemmed by a “reform of structures” but only by a personal encounter with the Risen Christ. He also urged “new relationships of esteem, of trust and of welcome of people’s various gifts” within the Church.

“To be an evangelizer is a vocation so that all people may be able to hear the Gospel of Jesus, believe in him and call upon him. That vocation is born on the very day of our baptism and it is a vocation to every believer in Christ to make of himself or herself a credible bearer of the good news encapsulated in his teaching. To be sent, then, is intrinsic to the baptismal vocation; this implies for all Christians that they assume this responsibility, each one in their own person, without any possibility of delegating it to others. The proclamation of the Gospel cannot be delegated to others; rather, it requires the awareness specific to the believer that he or she is to be a bearer of Christ wherever they go”.

Below the full text of Archbishop Fisichella’s intervention at Proclaim 2012  http://www.annusfidei.va/content/novaevangelizatio/en/news/09-08-2012.html





Some important date(s) this week:
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/ByDate.aspx

See website for biographies of Saints and Blessed celebrated this week.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX9bLHKvJntntjlrdIaq6rjeHuI1levUCdjgIIDwnQF3fuXmnuUXIVcXt7dqquYmcadtXyBoYjcD0oVibZ7QrHRVvM1DMxyLEIMT9jkSMIi6IELrsj1nY3PYuAk4c0acf-GPQ-CaBxMiQE/s1600/St_-Charles-Borromeo.jpg



FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30.  St Andrew the Apostle

The first Apostle. Fisherman by trade. Brother of Simon Peter. Follower of John the Baptist. Andrew went through life leading people to Jesus, both before and after the Crucifixion. Missionary in Asia Minor and Greece, and possibly areas in modern Russia and Poland. Martyred on an saltire (x-shaped) cross, he is said to have preached for two days from it.
http://saints.sqpn.com/sta12007.jpg






CHARITIES NEWSBYTES


November is Black Catholic month.  See daily reflections http://ow.ly/eUQgQ

Disaster Relief: Hurricane Sandy  Help support @CCharitiesUSA disaster relief efforts http://ow.ly/eSux3



 PAPAL INTENTIONS:   November 2012

General Intention: Ministers of the Gospel. That bishops, priests, and all ministers of the Gospel may bear the courageous witness of fidelity to the crucified and risen Lord.

Missionary Intention: Pilgrim Church. That the pilgrim Church on earth may shine as a light to the nations.


Corporal Works of Mercy:  The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor

  1. Feed the hungry
  2. Give drink to the thirsty
  3. Clothe the naked
  4. Shelter the homeless
  5. Visit the sick
  6. Visit those in prison
  7. Bury the dead



Note: Please consider joining our
FACEBOOK CAUSE http://apps.facebook.com/causes/106889 
FACEBOOK GROUP https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catholic-Charities-Diocese-of-Youngstown/138817639487339
TWITTER account, CCDOY, http://twitter.com/CCDOY
for current updates and calls to action that we can all use. 

See our website at http://www.ccdoy.org for links to the our ministries and services.    
For more information on Catholic Social Doctrine and its connection to our ministries, visit my blog at:  http://corbinchurchthinking.blogspot.com/
 

Sunday, November 18, 2012

MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for the week of November 18, 2012





Catholic Charities. Providing Help. Creating Hope. 

VISION: Believing in the presence of God in our midst, we proclaim the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the person by sharing in the mission of Jesus given to the Church. To this end, Catholic Charities works with individuals, families, and communities to help them meet their needs, address their issues, eliminate oppression, and build a just and compassionate society.

MISSION: Rooted in the Mission of the Diocese of Youngstown "to minister to the people in the six counties of northeastern Ohio . . .(and) to the world community", we are called to provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire Church and other people of good will to do the same.

GOALS: Catholic Charities is devoted to helping meet basic human needs, strengthening families, building communities and empowering low-income people. Working to reduce poverty in half by 2020.

KEY VALUE: Hospitality

WHAT WE DO: Organizing Love. "As a community, the Church must practise love. Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community" (Deus Caritas Est, par. 20) 



http://www.legionofmarytidewater.com/rose/l3.jpg

On Sunday, (Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, http://usccb.org/bible/readings/111812.cfm)   we read from the Gospel of Mark about Jesus’ prophecy of a new time when there ‘heaven and earth will pass away.”  It sounds dire.  But Jesus comforts his disciples and us when he states: “but my words will not pass away.”  Jesus’ encounter with us brings on a new reality:  the Kingdom of God is breaking open among us.  Jesus showers the love of God on each one of us, and calls us to live a new way, a new life, rooted in His call.  As we approach the end of the liturgical year, we are reminded that the key to our work is to help build and welcome that Kingdom of God.

Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org  continues to provide hope and help to thousands of persons and families each year.  We provide a sense of stability and care.  Catholic Charities’ work is to help all of us encounter that living Kingdom of God where all are welcomed and loved.  Through donations of time, treasure and talent of our volunteers, donors and staff, we continue that healing ministry of Jesus to witness to God’s great and abundant love.  That is what we do each day:  organize that love for each other.  This is one true sign that God is truly among us.




Reflection from Church Documents and Official Statements


http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/year-of-faith/images/year-of-faith-logo-montage.jpg

SUFFERING AND HEALTHCARE: TESTIMONY TO EVANGELISATION AND HOPE

Vatican City,  (VIS) - "The Hospital, Setting for Evangelisation: a Human and Spiritual Mission" is the theme of the twenty-seventh international conference of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care which will be held from 15 to 17 November in the Vatican's New Synod Hall. At the end of the conference, participants are due to be received in audience by Benedict XVI.
Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the dicastery, and Fr. Augusto Chendi M.I., under secretary, presented the aims of the conference at the Holy See Press Office this morning.

"Go, teach and heal the sick, is Jesus' mandate", said Archbishop Zimowski, "upon which are based two of the most fundamental activities of His Church: the proclamation of the Word and the care of the sick. … In the light of the current Year of Faith and the recent thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, hospitals, as important places for evangelisation, ... today constitute a crossroads of cultures and religions, areas where the apostolate of mercy, as defined by Blessed Pope John Paul II, finds exalted expression".

He observed, "In industrialised countries, aside from the grave economic and financial crises which have struck a number of nations and led to a drastic review of health services, serious challenges exist, beginning with the preservation of the identity of Catholic hospitals and other health centres, and the maintenance of their specific role of 'subsidiarity'. This must be achieved without in any way diminishing the importance of fundamental issues such as full respect for life from conception to natural end; the humanisation of healthcare (which means showing full respect for patients, their identity and life experiences); palliative care, etc.".
With regard to those countries facing greater economic hardships, the archbishop spoke of grave difficulties in accessing basic healthcare, and recalled that "people often die on account of a lack of basic medicines costing just a few dollars, as in the case of anti-malarial treatments". He also emphasised the scarcity of basic diagnostic instruments and specialised training for healthcare personnel, due primarily to "the lack of opportunities" for further study, usually for economic reasons. He also noted that "the few resources available to hospitals in the poorest regions must be used for the benefit of the population without discrimination on the basis of faith or ethnic origin, in accordance with the Word, the teachings of the Church and the spirit and history of missions".

He concluded, "What unites large urban hospitals and the small rural clinics … is the relationship between patients and healthcare workers, … the fact that they belong to the Universal Catholic Church, and necessarily adhere to her principles and teachings".

In his address, Fr. Chendi announced that the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Workers, on the occasion of the next World Day of the Sick (11 February 2013) will publish a manual, translated into various languages and valid for the whole of the Liturgical Year. The new volume will offer patients and all those involved in their physical and spiritual care a point of reference for theological reflection, pastoral care and prayer.

"Our intention in entrusting this manual to the Church, and to the world of healthcare, parishes and voluntary work, is to create a communion of grace, prayer and mutual charity", he said. "This, we hope will help us see in the mystery of suffering ... the concrete and daily testimony of those who bring good to the sick, and who bring good through their own sickness. In this way such people bear a valid witness to the faith which, from the sickbed and close to those who suffer, is an important source of evangelisation and hope".   

http://www.news.va/en/news/suffering-and-healthcare-testimony-to-evangelisati





See website for biographies of Saints and Blessed celebrated this week.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX9bLHKvJntntjlrdIaq6rjeHuI1levUCdjgIIDwnQF3fuXmnuUXIVcXt7dqquYmcadtXyBoYjcD0oVibZ7QrHRVvM1DMxyLEIMT9jkSMIi6IELrsj1nY3PYuAk4c0acf-GPQ-CaBxMiQE/s1600/St_-Charles-Borromeo.jpg

http://mariannedorman.homestead.com/PresentMary.jpg

WEDNESDAY, November 21.  Presentation of Mary
Mary’s presentation was celebrated in Jerusalem in the sixth century. A church was built there in honor of this mystery. The Eastern Church was more interested in the feast, but it does appear in the West in the 11th century. Although the feast at times disappeared from the calendar, in the 16th century it became a feast of the universal Church.
As with Mary’s birth, we read of Mary’s presentation in the temple only in apocryphal literature. In what is recognized as an unhistorical account, the Protoevangelium of James tells us that Anna and Joachim offered Mary to God in the Temple when she was three years old. This was to carry out a promise made to God when Anna was still childless.
Though it cannot be proven historically, Mary’s presentation has an important theological purpose. It continues the impact of the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the birth of Mary. It emphasizes that the holiness conferred on Mary from the beginning of her life on earth continued through her early childhood and beyond.


THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22.  Thanksgiving Day.  Happy celebration everyone!






CHARITIES NEWSBYTES



November is Black Catholic month.  See daily reflections http://ow.ly/eUQgQ

Disaster Relief: Hurricane Sandy  Help support @CCharitiesUSA disaster relief efforts http://ow.ly/eSux3



 PAPAL INTENTIONS:   November 2012

General Intention: Ministers of the Gospel. That bishops, priests, and all ministers of the Gospel may bear the courageous witness of fidelity to the crucified and risen Lord.

Missionary Intention: Pilgrim Church. That the pilgrim Church on earth may shine as a light to the nations.


Corporal Works of Mercy:  The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor

  1. Feed the hungry
  2. Give drink to the thirsty
  3. Clothe the naked
  4. Shelter the homeless
  5. Visit the sick
  6. Visit those in prison
  7. Bury the dead



Note: Please consider joining our
FACEBOOK CAUSE http://apps.facebook.com/causes/106889 
FACEBOOK GROUP https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catholic-Charities-Diocese-of-Youngstown/138817639487339
TWITTER account, CCDOY, http://twitter.com/CCDOY
for current updates and calls to action that we can all use. 

See our website at http://www.ccdoy.org for links to the our ministries and services.    
For more information on Catholic Social Doctrine and its connection to our ministries, visit my blog at:  http://corbinchurchthinking.blogspot.com/